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Macedonia

We left on Christmas Day, having celebrated a day early to get a head start. It had snowed heavily in Belgrade that night, so the roads were an adventure in town. Out in the countryside, however, things seemed to move along very nicely.

Our first stop was Skopje, the capital city of Macedonia. We read somewhere that the official name - The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - is so unwieldy at the insistence of Greece to avoid any potential territorial claims on historical Macedonia, which is mostly in modern day Greece. So there.

We hit town right at the crazy evening rush hour, got completely lost, had hungry kids in the backseat, and felt the clutch in our car going out. Our trip was not off to an auspicious start.

After a night in the newest, ritziest hotel in town (where we were the only guests in the entire 8 story building!), Susan and the kids explored the old Turkish Quarter, with its bustling shops, sidewalk stalls, and ancient fortifications while Dave got the car fixed. The good news was that it was an easy repair, and so we continued our trip south to Greece.

Everywhere in the "Turkish Quarter" were little shops selling handmade goods - everything from shoes, to blankets, to baskets

Skopje had received a dusting of snow during the night, which looked beautiful from the top of our hotel. The mix of religions and building styles was amazing, giving us a glimpse at the muddied history of the entire region.

When we crossed the border into Greece, however, we wanted a souvenir for YiaYia. Alea and Breck were not happy about getting out of the car to take a picture, as you can see (this is actually one of Dave's favorite pictures from the trip...).

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